Overview

The Silver Eagle by Ben Kane

They fought against almighty odds at the very edge of the known world – and lost. Ten thousand legionaries are all that are left of a once powerful Roman army.

In the first century B.C., trapped in Parthia by Crassus's failed invasion, the legionaries that survived are captured and marched to the edge of the known world. Abandoned by Rome, these men are the Forgotten Legion. Among them are three friends, Brennus the Gaul, Tarquinun the Etruscan soothsayer and Romulus, a runaway slave and the bastard son of a Roman nobleman. All men with troubled pasts and united in their hatred of Rome, they never stop dreaming of Freedom. Together they must face the savage tribes that surround them as well as the more treacherous enemies within the ranks of the legion itself. Their character will be tested to the utter limit as they struggle to find a way back to Rome. Meanwhile, Fabiola, Romulus' twin sister, tries to maintain hope of her brother's survival while fighting for her own. Freed by her powerful lover but beset by enemies on all sides, she must travel to Gaul to find her lover, the right-hand man of Julius Caesar. But in Gaul, her lover is fighting for his very life against Vercingetorix, whose rampaging army threatens to destroy all who rally around Caesar.

Together these characters, whose lives are intertwined and their stories interwoven, bring to life an truly epic story of the late Roman Republic and the ancient world in which it thrived.

About the Author

BEN KANE is the author of the critically acclaimed, internationally bestselling The Forgotten Legion, the first in the Forgotten Legion Chronicles, as well as the concluding volume, The Road to Rome. He lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

“Lively...riveting...Kane clearly knows the history of the period, and his story is rich in accurate historical detail. The characterizations are finely drawn and set against a dangerous, cruel, but often thrilling landscape.” Booklist on The Forgotten Legion

“A pleasure for those like history and great adventure...recommended for historical fiction collections.” Library Journal on Forgotten Legion

From the Publisher

Kane's ambitious sequel to The Forgotten Legion continues his chronicle of life in the tumultuous Roman Republic. After four years as a prostitute, Fabiola becomes the lover of the powerful Decimus Brutus, a top lieutenant of Julius Caesar. Her two fiery obsessions are to exploit her social status to track down her rapist father and to reunite with her brother, Romulus, a gladiator turned legionnaire captured by the Parthians at Carrahae. Forced to serve in the Parthian army, Romulus dreams of returning to his native Rome, his quest helped along by a soothsayer and a soldier from Gaul. The siblings' parallel adventures unfold in propulsive alternating chapters, with military campaigns and pitched battles making up the bulk of the narrative excitement. The historical details, graphic combat sequences, and finely drawn characters lift Kane's title above standard swords-and-sandals fare and should keep series fans sated until the next installment. (Mar.)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

In 53 BC the Parthian army defeated General Crassus and his invading Roman legion. Their leader dead, thousands of the invaders are captured and either killed or forced to join their triumphant enemy. Three friends form the losing side (Tarquinius the Etruscan haruspex, former slave Brennus the gladiator from Gaul and Romulus also a former slave turned warrior) are forced to join the winning enemy.
Parthian Commander Pacorus orders Tarquinius to read the future using animal entrails or whatever as his army prepares for battle. However, the trio has problems as the Parthian soldiers resent how close their still enemy Tarquinius seems to be with their commander. They help each other stay focused and alive as they plan their escape, which means trekking from the Asian state across thousands of kilometers through hostile savage territory in order to return to Rome.
At the same, Romulus's twin sister Fabiola joins the seemingly serene household of Brutus, but savagery leaves her struggling for her life with no protection. Her only hope is to travel to Gaul to find Brutus.
The sequel to The Forgotten Legion, The Silver Eagle is a great ancient historical thriller in which the only way the three BFFs make it back to Rome is having each other's back; in spite of their diverse background the trio are a sort of Three Musketeers but in Roman times. The Fabiola subplot augments a powerful vivid (some chapters should have a warning label: don't read on a full stomach) look at friendship as the forgotten legionnaires struggle to survive in a world filled with deadly peril.
Harriet Klausner

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

This series by Kane is very well-written and cover's Roman History in a manner that holds enough fact to be reassuring and yet enough character development and unique topics/issues to be refreshingly entertaining. The one drawback is the lack of detail or focus on actual fight scenes, but this may be due to Kane's emphasis of big picture issues.

Wiliam_Maltese

More than 1 year ago

ABOUT THIS ONE I'M STILL A BIT UNDECIDED.
I’m a die-hard fan of Roman history books, and I’ve only two complaints about this one. [1.] It’s book two of a three-book (“The Forgotten Legion”) series, inadvertently picked up by me before I’d read book one; my fault. [2.] It has an awfully lot of detailed battle scenes which, actually, probably isn’t much of a complaint, since the book IS called “The Silver Eagle” in reference to the standards of every Roman legion at the time.
The story-line is okay, following three Roman legionnaires who meet up in book one, and by book two are stranded as conscripted soldiers in an enemy army deep in hostile territory, far from Rome (and anxious to get back there). Another plot-line revolves around one of the legionnaire’s sister who has problems of her own, as the mistress of Brutus, quite aside from unknowing her brother’s fate.
Little is resolved in the end, of course, since there is a book three. It’s just going to take me awhile to decide if I really want to read the 512 pages of book three’s THE ROAD TO ROME to find out how well any of this all turns out.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

sawdusttm

More than 1 year ago

good adventure story, but lacking in historical accuracy. Good fun read if actual history is not that important.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Enjoy ben kanes books very much however got tired of fabiola and her scheming loved tarquinus and brennan romulas had great adventures and excellent companions but would have been better without fabiola.just my opinion other than that excellent read

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

AislinToo

More than 1 year ago

Ben Kane's writing style is great. He makes it easy to go totally into the story and his character's are very believable.

emmi331

More than 1 year ago

I enjoyed the first book in this series, The Forgotten Legion, but this was not my cup of tea. I got about halfway through it before putting it down for good. Author Kane has amped up the cruelty and violence to the point that most of the book seems taken up by it. And the plot basically lurches from one cliffhanger situation to another; Faviola's story has turned into The Perils of Pauline. The constant mistreatment of the lead characters by the villainous element becomes monontonous after awhile. The series still has at least one book following this one, but I doubt I could put myself through more of this harrowing narrative before a happy ending is finally reached.

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More than 1 year ago

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gl

More than 1 year ago

The Silver Eagle continues the interwoven stories of Ben Kane's debut novel, The Forgotten Legion. The series is set in the Roman Empire and its outskirts during the time of Julius Caesar, Pompey, Crassus, and Brutus. These historical figures play critical roles in Ben Kane's plots, but the lead protagonists are far from the seat of power. The heroes are largely taken from the conquered peoples and slaves of the Roman Empire.
We encounter the three close friends and legionaries of The Forgotten Legion again. The story continues after Crassus's failed invasion of Partha and these legionaries have been incorporated into the Parthan army. Tarquinius, the Etrucscan haruspex, is under increasing pressure by the Parthian commander Pacorus to read the future and help Parthia smash all opposition. As the Parthian troops face attacks from Scythians, Tarquinius's position becomes increasingly tenuous. Brennus, the famous gladiator and former slave from Gaul, struggles to keep up his spirit but antagonism from the Parthian troops and fellow legionaries constantly weigh him down. Brennus relies upon his friendship with Tarquinius and Romulus to keep him focused and motivated. Romulus, a former slave who proved himself to be a born warrior, dreams of returning to Rome and uniting his family. Romulus, Brennus, and Tarquinius are isolated and in danger - with no one to trust but each other, they must make the journey of thousands of miles.
Meanwhile, Fabiola, Romulus's beautiful twin sister, is established in Brutus's household. She's adapting to her life on her country estate when sudden violence erupts. Fabiola suddenly faces a struggle for her life and must rely on her wits, her beauty and the loyalty of those around her as she prepares to travel to Gaul to find Brutus and safety. I enjoy stories with where determined young people somehow brave all types of treachery and insurmountable odds and still somehow maintain a sense of honor. The key heroes in Ben Kane's The Silver Eagle and The Forgotten Legion have that quality and I find myself constantly rooting for Brennus, Tarquinius, Romulus, and Fabiola. Even Fabiola's Brutus is painted as an engaging and honorable man. The relationship between Fabiola and Brutus is much deeper in The Silver Eagle, which adds another interesting element to the novel.
Like The Forgotten Legion, The Silver Eagle is an engrossing story of loyalty, friendship, betrayal and love during historic and tumultuous times. Ben Kane anchors the story in much historic detail which gives The Silver Eagle an added layer of depth and complexity. I stayed up much of the night reading The Silver Eagle and highly recommend it! The third in the series, The Road to Rome, comes out in August!
ISBN-10: 0312536720 Hardcover
Publisher: St. Martin's Press (March 16, 2010), 480 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.